rimingtontrophy.com

The Rimington Trophy Committee has released its 2016 Spring Watch List, which includes the following top centers in Division I football. In order to create this list, the committee accepted nominations from programs across the country that submitted their current starting centers for consideration.

The following is a list of those named to the 2016 Spring Watch List:

Conference

School

First Name

Last Name

Class Year

Height

Weight

Am. Athl.

Cincinnati

Deyshawn

Bond

SR

6'1

295

Connecticut

Ryan

Crozier

RS SO

6'4

296

Houston

Will

Noble

SO

6'4

290

Memphis

Drew

Kyser

SO

6'5

300

SMU

Evan

Brown

JR

6'3

306

Temple

Brendan

McGowan

Grad

6'3

298

Tulsa

Chandler

Miller

SO

6'3

290

ACC

Clemson

Jay

Guillermo

SR

6'3

325

Florida State

Alec

Eberle

RS SO

6'4

287

Georgia Tech

Freddie

Burden

RS SR

6'4

299

Miami

Nicholas

Linder

JR

6'3

300

North Carolina

Lucas

Crowley

SR

6'3

290

Pittsburgh

Alex

Officer

RS JR

6'4

335

Syracuse

Jason

Emerich

RS SR

6'3

284

Virginia

Jackson

Matteo

SR

6'5

290

Big Ten

Illinois

Joe

Spencer

SR

6'4

300

Iowa

Sean

Welsh

JR

6'3

288

Maryland

Brendan

Moore

SO

6'3

295

Michigan

Mason

Cole

JR

6'5

305

Nebraska

Dylan

Utter

SR

6'1

295

Wisconsin

Michael

Deiter

SO

6'6

316

Big 12

Baylor

Kyle

Fuller

SR

6'5

310

Kansas State

Dalton

Risner

SO

6'5

300

Oklahoma

Jonathan

Alvarez

Junior

6'3

315

Oklahoma State

Brad

Lundblade

JR

6'3

300

TCU

Austin

Schlottman

JR

6'6

300

Texas Tech

Tony

Morales

SR

6'3

285

West Virginia

Tyler

Orlosky

RS SR

6'4

295

C-USA

FIU

Michael

Montero

SR

6'2

299

Florida Atlantic

Dillon

DeBoer

Grad

6'6

295

Middle Tennessee

Daniel

Stephens

SR

6'2

306

Old Dominion

Nick

Clarke

SO

6'4

301

Southern Miss

Cameron

Tom

SR

6'4

287

WKU

Max

Halpin

RS SR

6'3

295

MAC

Bowling Green

Tim

McAuliffe

RS JR

6'0

272

Buffalo

James

O'Hagan

SO

6'2

308

Mtn. West

Colorado State

Jake

Bennett

JR

6'3

295

Hawaii

Asotui

Eli

RS SO

6'4

295

Nevada

Nathan

Goltry

SR

6'2

300

San Diego State

Arthur

Flores

SR

6'5

305

Utah State

Austin

Stephens

SR

6'3

305

Pac-12

USC

Toa

Lobendahn

JR

6'3

295

Washington

Coleman

Shelton

JR

6'4

292

Washington State

Riley

Sorenson

SR

6'4

327

SEC

Arkansas

Frank

Ragnow

JR

6'5

314

Georgia

Brandon

Kublanow

SR

6'3

282

Kentucky

Jon

Toth

SR

6'5

310

LSU

Ethan

Pocic

SR

6'7

309

Mississippi State

Jamaal

Clayborn

SR

6'4

315

Ole Miss

Robert

Conyers

SR

6'5

290

South Carolina

Alan

Knott

RS JR

6'4

280

Tennessee

Coleman

Thomas

JR

6'5

301

Sun Belt

Arkansas State

Devin

Mondie

SR

6'5

304

Georgia Southern

Andy

Kwon

SR

6'2

300

Georgia State

Gabe

Mobley

SO

6'2

285

Idaho

Steve

Matlock

SR

6'2

270

Indpt.

Notre Dame

Sam

Mustipher

JR

6'2

305

While more than a dozen All-America teams are selected annually, the Rimington Trophy committee used these three prestigious teams to determine a winner:

· Walter Camp Foundation (WCF)

· Sporting News (SN)

· Football Writers Association of America (FWAA)

Because the selectors of these three All-America teams can place centers in a "mix" of offensive linemen that includes guards and tackles, their 11- man first teams can often have two centers. The Rimington Trophy committee's policy is to count all players that play primarily the center position for their respective teams as centers, even though they may be listed as guards or tackles on the All- America teams.

The center with the most first team votes will be determined the winner. If there is a tie with first team votes, then the center with the most second team votes will win. If there is still a tie, the winner will be determined by a majority vote from the Rimington Trophy committee. The

winner will be recognized at the Rimington Trophy Presentation at the Rococo Theatre in Lincoln, Nebraska on Saturday, January 14, 2017.

* * *

About the Rimington Trophy

The Rimington Trophy is presented annually to the Most Outstanding Center in NCAA Division I-A College Football. Since its inception, the Rimington Trophy has raised over $2.6 million for the cystic fibrosis community. The award is overseen by the Boomer Esiason Foundation, which is committed to finding a cure for cystic fibrosis and has raised over $120 million for the fight against cystic fibrosis.

Dave Rimington, the award's namesake, was a consensus first-team All-America center at the University of Nebraska in 1981 and 1982, during which time he became the John Outland Trophy's only double winner as the nation's finest college interior lineman.

For more on the Rimington Trophy and a list of past recipients, visit www.rimingtontrophy.com

About the NCFAA

The Rimington Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. Visit www.NCFAA.org to learn more about its story.